Much of the space community views the launch by SpaceX as a watershed moment - the opening of the heavens to private industry, and a glimpse of the public-private nature of future spaceflight.

The launch also comes as Texas' future in space is increasingly tenuous, with Johnson Space Center's role unclear amid a NASA that won't have its own functional rocket for at least a decade.

That's why some Texas space officials are enticed by SpaceX's consideration of building a spaceport in Texas.

"The state of Texas ought to be on it like a duck on a June bug," said Tom Moser, a former NASA space station program director who led an effort to build a Texas spaceport in the 1990s.

But is the state? Apparently not.

In April, SpaceX filed its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for a proposed launch site in Cameron County, about 3 miles north of the Mexican border on the Gulf Coast. According to the company, the site's operations would consist of up to 12 launches per year.

Lines are blurring

During the last half century, there's been a clear distinction between Florida, which launched rockets, and Texas, which trained astronauts, supervised spacecraft construction and controlled missions.

But that boundary has blurred in recent years with the rise of private spaceflight, such as when Florida obtained management of the office that will oversee astronauts who fly on commercial spacecraft.

Were SpaceX to build the spaceport, it would give Texas a toehold in the launch business and bolster its future in the changing spaceflight business. The Hawthrone, Calif.-based company, which already has a rocket testing facility near Waco, says its interest in a Texas launch site is legitimate. It is considering a new launch site in Florida, Puerto Rico and perhaps other locations in addition to Texas.

"We are pretty interested in the possibility of Texas and building a spaceport there," said Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of SpaceX.

However, Musk says that interest has yet to be reciprocated by Texas officials.

"There's been a lot of good action by the authorities in the Brownsville area; there's not been that much at the state level, and we'd certainly appreciate more from the state level," Musk said.

He did not respond to a request for comment on state efforts to attract the SpaceX spaceport. Instead he forwarded the query to Lucy Nashed, a Perry spokeswoman.

"Our office policy is not to discuss any potential negotiations, so unfortunately I can't confirm anything for you," Nashed said.

Texas must 'wake up'

Texas must see commercial space as an important part of the future along with NASA and JSC, advocates say.

"The thing is for Texas to wake up, not just embrace it but get ahead of it," said Rick Tumlinson, founder of the Texas Space Alliance.

The organization is pushing for the creation of a quasi-governmental agency like Space Florida, which has a $10 million annual budget, acts as a single point of contact for industry and actively promotes the development of commercial spaceflight. Other states are active as well. New Mexico has provided state support to build a spaceport for Virgin Galactic, and Virginia is also pursuing a launch industry.

A vulnerable state

Tumlinson and his organization's new president, Robert Lancaster, have been meeting with Perry's office and some legislators in advance of the 2013 session to raise awareness of Texas' need to get in the private space game now, or lose out.

The creation of a state space entity would send a clear signal to private companies like SpaceX, Lancaster said, and could negotiate tax breaks, infrastructure and other incentives to make a private spaceport a reality.

The Texas Enterprise Fund, created to help attract jobs and investment to the state, has about $175 million available for fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

Lancaster believes there's not a full realization in Texas of the changing nature of human spaceflight, and how Houston and Texas' historically strong standing in the industry are vulnerable. "We believe there's really a paradigm shift in how human spaceflight will be conducted," Lancaster said.

"The more we show and inform the decision-makers in Texas that things which have historically been in Texas, and should be in Texas, are locating in other states, we believe they will be supportive of this initiative."